Alright, I'm just going to say it: 1600 calories and packing on muscle

[moogoogaidan]

First of all, edit on the title: I recalculated, and my diet is closer to 1800 calories.

Alright, I'll just let you all know that I haven't been eating carbs, I don't eat very many vegetables, I work out hard and I've gotten everything that I wanted accomplished. I've lost fat and built muscle and all of it contrary to a lot of the "carb this, carb that, more healthy fat" that seems to dominate this place. This post is for people who, like me, are thinking about going high protein, low cal.

Me: 5'4, 145 lbs -- Don't ask me bf, but I have a well defined six pack and vascularity up and down my arms

My diet:
7 a.m.: Four whole eggs, one scoop whey
11 a.m.: Two chicken breasts
2 p.m.: Three chicken breasts
5 p.m.: Two chicken breasts
6 p.m.: One scoop whey
Workout
8 p.m.: (pwo) Two scoops whey
11 p.m.: One cup CC with a tablespoon of natty PB

This is the diet that works for me and I seriously have tried everything. I'm definitely a firm believer that weighing calories in and calories out is what sheds fat, and that protein builds muscle. Those are the only two maxims of my diet and they work like hell. Try it -- it might work for you too.

[RU4A69]

when was the last time you had a solid bowel movement?

[moogoogaidan]

All the time, my man. I'm pretty regular right when i get home from work at around 5 p.m.

[mrmafia33]

when was the last time you had a solid bowel movement?

lol

[mrmafia33]

I always have to go at swim meets (because I get nervous) and before practice.

[slaydox]

ok?

[M11]

1800 calories...

You weigh ten pounds.

Gaining some mass at your weight with 1800 pounds doesn't impress or surprise me. Different people have different metabolisms.

[Crunchbar]

dude.... woo there is no carbs and barely any fat.. i think u will see negatives side effects of this diet in the future for sure...

[moogoogaidan]

Cool, but I'm not trying to impress anyone. My point is that I've navigated the board heavily the past few weeks and whenever anyone mentions a low calorie diet people are always posting "eat more" and "that's way too few calories...you need more carbs." I'm simply here to say that I've seen tremendous results with an 1800 calorie diet so long as i'm getting north of 290 grams of protein a day.

[jayknow05]

First of all, edit on the title: I recalculated, and my diet is closer to 1800 calories.

Alright, I'll just let you all know that I haven't been eating carbs, I don't eat very many vegetables, I work out hard and I've gotten everything that I wanted accomplished. I've lost fat and built muscle and all of it contrary to a lot of the "carb this, carb that, more healthy fat" that seems to dominate this place. This post is for people who, like me, are thinking about going high protein, low cal.

Me: 5'4, 145 lbs -- Don't ask me bf, but I have a well defined six pack and vascularity up and down my arms

My diet:
7 a.m.: Four whole eggs, one scoop whey
11 a.m.: Two chicken breasts
2 p.m.: Three chicken breasts
5 p.m.: Two chicken breasts
6 p.m.: One scoop whey
Workout
8 p.m.: (pwo) Two scoops whey
11 p.m.: One cup CC with a tablespoon of natty PB

This is the diet that works for me and I seriously have tried everything. I'm definitely a firm believer that weighing calories in and calories out is what sheds fat, and that protein builds muscle. Those are the only two maxims of my diet and they work like hell. Try it -- it might work for you too.

Your 7 chicken breasts is already 2000 cals

edit: I did your diet on fitday.com, 99 grams fat, 47 grams carb, 495 grams protein, 3173 cals.

[jayknow05]

From: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1268956

I like to use a construction worker analogy to explain this. Imagine that your muscles are like a house you're trying to build. The bricks used to build the house represent the amino acids (from the ingestion of protein) while the money you're paying the workers (so that they'll do the work) represents the carbs and fat you eat.

Finally, the workers represent the factors involved in the protein synthesis process (Testosterone mainly) and the truck bringing the bricks to the workers represent insulin (which plays a capital role in transporting the nutrients to the muscle cells).

If you don't give the workers enough bricks (protein) they won't be able to build the house as fast as they could. So in that regard, an insufficient protein intake will slow down muscle growth.

Similarly, if you don't pay your workers enough (low carbs or fat intake) they won't be as motivated to work hard. As a result, the house won't be built very rapidly. In fact, if you really cut the workers' pay, they might even get mad, go on strike, and start demolishing the house (catabolism due to an excessively low caloric intake). So in that regard, not consuming enough protein or calories to support muscle growth will lead to a slower rate of gains.

Now, what happens if you start to send more bricks (increase protein intake) to the workers? Well, they'll be able to build the house more rapidly because they aren't lacking in raw material. However, at some point, sending more and more bricks won't lead to a faster rate of construction because the workers can only perform so much work in any given amount of time. For example, if your crew can add 1000 bricks per day to the walls, giving them 2000 bricks per day will be useless: it exceeds their work capacity. So the excess bricks will go to waste (literally).

In the same regard, if you increase your workers' salary (increase caloric intake) chances are their motivation will also increase and as a result they'll build the house faster. However, just like with bricks, there comes a point where increasing the workers' salary won't have any effect on the house-building rate: the workers will reach their physical limit. Once this limit is reached you can increase their salary all you want; they won't be able to add bricks to the house any faster.

What I'm trying to say is you can't bully your body into building muscle by force-feeding it. Adding nutrients and calories will have a positive effect on muscle growth until you reach your saturation point. After that, any additional calories will be stored as body fat.

So while it's true the more you eat the bigger you'll get, the additional weight will be in the form of fat, not muscle tissue.

[moogoogaidan]

Nope. They're small chicken breasts -- I probably should have listed the ounces instead of portions. Two of the chicken breasts I eat equal about 7-8 ounces, which according to calorieking.com (not to mention the frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts I buy frozen from the store) have about 29 calories per ounce, putting my two chicken breasts at around 200-230 calories.

[jayknow05]

Nope. They're small chicken breasts -- I probably should have listed the ounces instead of portions. Two of the chicken breasts I eat equal about 7-8 ounces, which according to calorieking.com (not to mention the frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts I buy frozen from the store) have about 29 calories per ounce, putting my two chicken breasts at around 200-230 calories.

so ~750 calories from chicken. and every scoop of whey has 130 cals (at least mine does and it's probably pretty similar) 4 scoops is 520 cals. Not 3000 calories but still at least 2000.

[MSmith19]

That's just a retarded diet for overall health regardless of if you are gaining mass.

[Kilburn]

post pictures and maybe i'll actually take you seriously. looks like a crap diet to me. also, that many chicken breasts each day is ****ing expensive.

[Rex914]

That's just a retarded diet for overall health regardless of if you are gaining mass.

Amen. Part of bodybuilding is to aim for a healthier body, and this is not achieving the health part of things. You can be lean and cut, but it doesn't necessarily mean healthy since you are neglecting fruits and vegetables, two staples of any healthy diet, no matter who you ask. The nutrients in these that you're lacking are essential for you to stay in good health.

Plus, if you really want to be technical, vegetables in particular are very calorie light but nutrient dense, so they add lots of bulk to a meal but very little on the calorie side. Fruits have sugar, but oranges digest slowly due to the fiber, so the response to that is slow.

- Jon

[moogoogaidan]

Like I said, I didn't say it's the best diet, I'm just countering a lot of the arguments on here that say not eating more than 2500 calories a day is going to make your body waste away muscle, and you'll make no gains.

As for the body pics, I'll maybe take some this weekend, but there's almost no point considering i don't have a before shot -- actually, on second thought, I might have one.... hmmm... I'll look into it, but I'll just update this thread if I get around to it this weekend. Cheers.

[slaydox]

Op's retarded....he thinks we care.

[sportyhp]

u know everyone's going to say your diet sucks without veggies, whole grains or fruit, so why even post this? great, it works for you...super. i hope you are taking multis tho or something to get some vitamins and minerals

[inkedouttrucca]

U Love Chicken

[moogoogaidan]

Yup, taking multis in the morning with my eggs and protein shake. I forgot to mention that I work in a hotel and they really take care of their employees, dining wise -- free cafeteria where you can order as many freshly grilled chicken breasts as you can eat.

And Slaydox, you can suck my balls. You think people really give a damn about more than 25 percent of the posts on this board? Besides, this thread seems to be attracting traffic just fine.

PS here are the pics

[daazndood]

i mostly dont have solid bowel movements ever since i started taking whey i think becuase i mix it with milk?

is this bad? i can put up with the unsolid bowel movements as long as im still getting the nutrients from milk.

[xlmaxim]

If you're still making progress, doesn't that just mean that 5'4 145 at 1800 cal/day you're still eating a caloric surplus?

A calorie is a calorie, so your body is using protein as it's main source of energy instead of carbs, or which you're taking in more then enough.

What are your lifts like?

[moogoogaidan]

I'm not sure about one rep max, because I haven't done for them, but I'll tell you what I work with (btw, this isn't my program exercise for exercise, just examples):

Incline bench press: 185 x 8-10, 4 sets
Wide grip pull ups: 12 reps, 4 sets
Stiff leg deadlifts: 275 x 6-8, 4 sets
Flat bench flyes: 65 dumbbells x 10, 4 sets
Standing military press: 110 x 10-12, 4 sets
Seated dumbbell shoulder press: 65 dumbbells x 10, 4 sets
Pullovers: 85 dumbbell x 10, 4 sets
Straight bar curl: 70 x 10-12, 4 sets (biceps are a weak point for me)
Alternating dumbbell curls: 40 x 10-12, 4 sets

et cetera, et cetera

You're probably right about my body using protein as a main energy source in light of the fact that i eat very few carbs and fats. I dunno, whatever it is, it seems to work for me -- which is the only point i'm trying to make!

So before you guys start trashing on no/low carb, low cal, high protein diets, keep in mind that there is at least one person that it actually worked best for.

[EggWhiteMuncher]

I dont think there is anything wrong with low carb high protein. The guys do have a point tho - bumping up your carbs a little with a couple of pieces of fruit a day and a handful of nuts may help with overall health.

I tend to keep any carb consumption to the mornings and around training.

Do you not feel fatigued without carbs?

[MuscleMom]

You're probably right about my body using protein as a main energy source in light of the fact that i eat very few carbs and fats. I dunno, whatever it is, it seems to work for me -- which is the only point i'm trying to make!

So before you guys start trashing on no/low carb, low cal, high protein diets, keep in mind that there is at least one person that it actually worked best for.

Everyone's body is different and what works for one person may or may not work for another.

The most difficult part of this whole "sport" is finding the right diet that works for you. Kudos to you for finding it

[Jimmyp]

Just take the diet for what it is! You're employing an effective method of shedding bodyfat and maintaining lean muscle. Obviously cutting your carbs down to zilch while weight training and taking in ample protein will make anyones body shed bf%, you're a great example, and good work! Just realize, as other posters have stated, you're diet isn't BALANCED and you're missing out on fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and antiooxidents that whole grains, fruits and veggies would give you. - Jim

[FlipperAnderson]

Bro the reason we tell people to eat more is because they arent at a calorie surplus and they are trying to gain weight. You are gaining mass so you are at a calorie surplus, this is normal. If you are eating 99 grams of fat as one of the posters above said then that isnt considered low low fat. If you were to go to a LOW fat and LOW carb your body will start to retain the fat that you have right now because you would not be giving the body an ample amount. Also the reason why you have to go on a high fat or high carb diet is for energy. If you changed your diet to the point where it was LOW carb and LOW fat you would have no energy.

[Legendsneverdie]

First of all, edit on the title: I recalculated, and my diet is closer to 1800 calories.

Alright, I'll just let you all know that I haven't been eating carbs, I don't eat very many vegetables, I work out hard and I've gotten everything that I wanted accomplished. I've lost fat and built muscle and all of it contrary to a lot of the "carb this, carb that, more healthy fat" that seems to dominate this place. This post is for people who, like me, are thinking about going high protein, low cal.

Me: 5'4, 145 lbs -- Don't ask me bf, but I have a well defined six pack and vascularity up and down my arms

My diet:
7 a.m.: Four whole eggs, one scoop whey
11 a.m.: Two chicken breasts
2 p.m.: Three chicken breasts
5 p.m.: Two chicken breasts
6 p.m.: One scoop whey
Workout
8 p.m.: (pwo) Two scoops whey
11 p.m.: One cup CC with a tablespoon of natty PB

This is the diet that works for me and I seriously have tried everything. I'm definitely a firm believer that weighing calories in and calories out is what sheds fat, and that protein builds muscle. Those are the only two maxims of my diet and they work like hell. Try it -- it might work for you too.

your are a retard. this is the stupidest diet i ever seen. i never seen someone be such a baby when it comes to losing a 6pac. you will never gain muscle on that diet. your body is not capable of absorbing that much protien in oone sittings. your just pissing all that protien out. so in reality your only eating 6ounces of checken breast a meal and the rest is getting pissed right the **** out. you will be 145lbs and weak the rest of ur life on that diet dumb ass. eat some carbs or you will be a pussy forever.

[Sockomalo]

Straight bar curl: 70 x 10-12, 4 sets (biceps are a weak point for me)
Alternating dumbbell curls: 40 x 10-12, 4 sets

you can curl 40 pounds each hand, but only 70 pounds on a barbell?